Attorney General Eric Holder has taken a lot of heat for his decision to try the accused Sept. 11 plotters in a civilian court. But if the White House changes course and returns the suspects to military commissions, Holder may be in an even worse position, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly).
According to DOJ officials, Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four alleged co-conspirators in civil courts was predicated in part on President Barack Obama’s speech at the National Archives last year, the Journal said. “First, whenever feasible, we will try those who have violated American criminal laws in federal courts—courts provided for by the United States Constitution,” Obama said in May.
Justice Department officials admitted to the Journal that they failed to sufficiently reassure local residents after Holder’s announcement, but expressed frustration that the White House blocked Holder and others from publicly speaking out in defense of the decision.
According to the paper, Holder told friends he thought he had Obama’s support for the civilian trials. But White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel opposed the idea, the Journal said.
According to the Journal, White House officials said they were now leaning toward a military trial for KSM and the alleged co-plotters as part of an effort to cut a deal with lawmakers on closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is a key player in the deal and has said his support for closing Guantanamo is conditional on military trials for Mohammed and the others. However, there are still doubts about winning support from several Democrats, administration officials and congressional aides said.
The American Civil Liberties Union blasted the potential reversal in a full-page ad in the New York Times on Sunday. Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, told the Journal that a reversal would undermine the Justice Department’s reputation as non-partisan.
“Any reversal would clearly indicate that the decisions of the Justice Department are much more politicized than we were led to believe,” Romero said. “This Justice Department needs to show more incontrovertibly that it stands on its own two feet.”
